


Needlepoint

by mountmyoboku



Category: Naruto
Genre: Christmas Eve, Dialogue Heavy, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Genin Era, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:47:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28112619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mountmyoboku/pseuds/mountmyoboku
Summary: Sasuke allowed himself a small smile as he stood at the younger ninja’s side.“Naruto. Let’s visit the shrine for New Years.”The smaller ninja glanced over at his friend, whose eyes remained forward.“Yeah. Let’s visit the shrine.”
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 8
Kudos: 37





	Needlepoint

**Author's Note:**

> Writing for these two is really difficult, I've found. I hope to improve with more practice. Currently, I'm rewatching Naruto and I'm nearly finished with the Sasuke Recovery Mission arc. Being someone who grew up watching the show, it's been a new experience reliving it from the perspective of an adult. I'm still unclear about a lot of my feelings towards the characters, but I hope to work it all out through these writings.

He was unsure of what possessed him to come. The young boy stood, his hands shoved in the pockets of his pthalo coat with a purple knapsack sat firmly on his shoulders. He’d walked by the dingy apartment complex each day during his time at the academy yet had never paid it any mind. Today would be different. He inhaled, or sighed, before ascending the stairs. A skinny calico sat on the steps watching the boy with curious eyes. 

“Meow.” Squatting, the boy reached out to pet the gold-eyed cat. 

“Who is your owner?”

The cat nuzzled into the touch and hummed a soft sigh. 

“No owner, huh?” The cat didn’t answer, of course, but Sasuke didn’t mind. He’d always had an affinity for them. 

“Oi. Are you all alone?” The calico flinched from the touch as frantic steps made their way up the creaky steps. 

“Sasuke?!” Naruto gasped before skidding to a stop. “Crap, I didn’t think you’d get here so early…” The cat was gone and Sasuke sighed. 

Rocking back on his feet, he stood up. “You invited me here. Idiot.”

“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized, though the unreliable guy didn’t sound sorry in the slightest. “I had a last minute thing I had to do. Were you waiting long?” Naruto was flushed and out of breath, bundled up in a pyrrole puffy jacket and snow boots though it hadn’t yet fallen. Overzealous as usual, it seemed.

“The cat. Does the cat have an owner?”

“Cat?” he asked, blue eyes thoughtfully searching for an answer. “Ah, you mean the funny looking one with yellow eyes? Not that I’ve seen but I leave food out for her sometimes. Water, too.”

“I see.” 

A moment of silence passed, when Naruto cleared his throat and suggested they go in. 

Sasuke slung his knapsack off and took a seat at the wobbly kitchen table. The flickering fluorescents were migraine inducing.

“You live here.”

Naruto spun around, “I know it’s not much, but it’s still my home so could you respect it?” 

Sasuke turned his attention to the walls. The sickly green paint was chipping and the plants on the mantle were nearing the edge of death. 

“Oi. Your plants are dying.”

“Are you _trying_ to piss me off?” 

“I can’t believe they put you up here by yourself.” Naruto stared for a tick, his eyes diffident, before turning his attention to the cabinets behind him. 

“So I have beef, chicken… Oh and I have one last cup of spicy shrimp ramen? Which would you like?”

“You know you can’t live off of noodles, right? You’re a ninja.”

“Maa-maa, everyone says that. But today is special, yeah? ‘Cuz it’s Christmas Eve!” Sasuke scoffed.

“It’s only special if you eat it on special occasions, moron.” And then, “I’ll take beef.”

Sasuke quietly observed as Naruto set two cups of beef ramen on the counter and filled up his electric water kettle from the tap. 

_ The worst part is waiting the three minutes for the water to heat up _ , Sasuke recalled Naruto saying on the first day they were assigned to the same team. It never rang more true than now, however. Painful was the silence that loomed between them as Sasuke realized this was the first time they’d been alone outside of training. Though the silence wasn’t grating then, it was unbearable now.

But just as Sasuke was about to cave and resort to small talk, Naruto chuckled.

“Maa, I’ve never had a guest over before. I don’t even know what to say.” Sasuke closed his mouth and looked to his host. “Sorry, I guess it doesn’t help the situation to say that,” the guy grinned, a little embarrassed before hopping up on his counter to sit. 

“I get it,” Sasuke shrugged. “I don’t have people over, either.”

“Why not? You don’t really seem like the type to struggle making friends — ” 

“I’m not here to make friends,  _ dunce _ … I… prefer to be alone, I guess,” Sasuke continued. Naruto frowned, but said nothing. “Besides, I’m here aren’t I?”

“Sakura, Kakashi-sensei and I can’t be your only friends, stupid Sasuke. There’s plenty of other people in town — what about that guy on Team 8? You know, the weird guy with the glasses?”

The kettle beeped and Naruto hopped off of the counter. 

“Ne, Sasuke?” he began after a moment. “You know you can tell me things, right?” As he peeled back the covers of the cup ramen, the older boy watched Naruto carefully pour the boiled water into the cups. “I know we don’t really see eye-to-eye much, but I kinda like having you around, dattebayo. Though you’re arrogant and really sort of a bastard, you’re a precious comrade so you better not forget it!.” Naruto was pointing his wooden chopsticks at his friend, a cheesy grin on his face. Sasuke knit his brows, a sort of half smile painting his lips. 

“Stop saying pointless things, loser. You’re starting to sound like that old man, Kakashi.”

They ate their dinner, arguing over things like which ninja tools were more effective and reminiscing about past missions. 

“Ne, Sasuke?” Naruto asked, his head on the table. “Do you think I’ll be able to become Hokage?”

Sasuke sat back in his seat, his arms crossed.

“Why are you asking me?” Naruto shrugged. “I don’t even understand how you could want the title. ‘So everyone in the village will stop ignoring me and treat me with respect’ or something like that? You have a bridge named after you so who cares what the stupid people of this town think?”

Naruto lifted his head, though his hands remained in his lap.

“Sakura thinks I’m annoying.”

“You are annoying.” Resting his chin on the wooden table, Naruto sighed.

“Sometimes I think I’m satisfied, because I know you and Iruka-sensei, Sakura and Kakashi-sensei… But I still feel their hatred. The others, I mean. And I just want to hate back.”

“So why don’t you?”

Naruto thought carefully for a moment before answering, “I don’t want to hate anyone, and I don’t want anyone to hate me.”

“I will never understand,” Sasuke sighed, “how you could forgive the Third for allowing your alienation. Or for putting you up in a place like this. If you manage to become Hokage, be better than the Third, be better than the others.”   
Naruto mused for a moment before glancing at the clock on his wall. A mischievous gleam appeared and Sasuke scrunched his face.

“Close your eyes.”

“No.”

“C’mon! Don’t be lame.”

“…” Naruto stood up from his seat once Sasuke’s eyes were shut. For a moment, there was some shuffling around and just as he was starting to get irritated,

“Ta-da!” 

Before Sasuke was a glass shadow box with three slim needles displayed neatly in the center.

“Ne, ne? What do you think?”

“Are these… Haku’s needles?”

“Yep! You guessed it. Didn’t think I’d put together such an awesome gift, huh? And since you never got any souvenirs, I thought it’d be nice for you to have a memento!”

Sasuke took the clear case from Naruto’s hands. It was heavier than he thought.

“I had it custom made but they were running late on my order which is why I was late… You know, I never did thank you for helping me out back in the Land of Waves. So I guess this is me making it even,” he chuckled, eyes squinty. 

Sasuke’s heart skipped a beat.

“Oi. Naruto.” The younger boy looked up, his cheeks a little pink. “… I didn’t get you anything.”

“…”

“…”

“Idiot Sasuke, it’s Christmas! What?! And after I went to all the trouble to prepare you such an awesome gift?”

Sasuke stood up and walked over to Naruto.

“Ah. Just kidding, Sasuke, _please don’t hit me_ —!”

“I’m sorry.” And just like that, the taller ninja put his arms around his friend and hugged him. “Next year.”

Naruto faltered, unsure of how to react, before bringing his arms up and hugging back. Over Sasuke’s shoulder, he peered out of the window where the first snow of the year began to fall.

“Ne, Sasuke! It’s snowing!”

Naruto detached himself from Sasuke and ran to the window, pressing his hands against it. Sasuke allowed himself a small smile as he stood at the younger ninja’s side. 

“Naruto. Let’s visit the shrine for New Years.”

The smaller ninja glanced over at his friend, whose eyes remained forward.

“Yeah. Let’s visit the shrine.”

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is @mountmyoboku


End file.
